There is new competition, by the way. A few executives around the league have learned since the Clippers’ season ended with a first-round playoff loss to Memphis that they are probing ways to dump enough salary to make a run at Howard. Other personnel execs said they doubted that the Clippers could free enough money to make a serious run at him.

The Mavericks, along with the Rockets are expected to be among the free-agent suitors for Howard.

Dwight Howard is too much of a Dwight Coward to leave the Los Angeles Lakers like he left the Orlando Magic. He doesn’t have the intestinal fortitude to do it. He’s not tough enough to endure the flood of criticism from the national media that would surely come if he left the exalted, illustrious, grandiloquent Lakers.

Safe to say that there wouldn’t be a warm welcome in Orlando, where Howard’s NBA career began.

Photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images

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Dwight Howard will turn 28 next season. Will Howard, from age 28 to 31, be in the prime time of his career? He’s averaged 18.3 points and 12.9 rebounds in his first nine seasons. A look at how the 13 centers who won the NBA MVP Award fared at that age and how it compares to their career average: less

Dwight Howard will turn 28 next season. Will Howard, from age 28 to 31, be in the prime time of his career? He’s averaged 18.3 points and 12.9 rebounds in his first nine seasons. A look at how the 13 centers ... more